The Legend of Zelda: Aftermath
by Persephone Oswald Oleesen
Summary: Five years after the events of Twilight Princess, the Hero has become restless. When their homeland is taken by a powerful entity, Link and Zelda must journey to far away lands to find the culprit. Rated T for violence, gore, language.


A/N: This is the beginning of the epic Legend of Zelda story I've always wanted to write. I've been fighting myself for a while trying to decide whether or not I wanted to upload this yet, but finally after a little coaxing I decided to go for it. I really hope anyone who reads this likes it.

The Legend of Zelda: Aftermath takes place after Twilight Princess. Everyone is a little older and a little more mature, and I tried to show that through their characters. As far as the game's storyline goes, it's basically canon with a few decorations.

Disclaimer: I don't own the Zelda franchise or any of its affiliates.

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The Legend of Zelda: Aftermath

Chapter One: Introduction

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The Twili War. One of the more mysterious and secretive happenings in Hyrule's history. When it is broken down to the bare frame, it is revealed that it wasn't much of a war at all.

_The kingdom was in danger, yes; that much is certain when one understands how close the princess came to losing her life to the usurper Gerudo king, Ganondorf. The Royal Guard never had a chance; many of them had lived a life of luxury due to the long reign of peace by King Hyrule. Most had never seen the flames of war._

_In essence, the Twili War was a one man battle, fought not by a knight, or a seasoned war hero but by a seemingly randomly chosen goatherd from the little farming community to the south. The boy, barely of age, was said to have traveled the entire kingdom, battling monstrous creatures and saving each province from the Twilight that bathed the land and transformed the people into spirits or, even worse, into the ebony and crimson Twili beasts. _

_Some say it was luck that won the war and drove the darkness out of Hyrule. Others say the boy had lied and that he couldn't possibly have performed the many incredible, impossible feats he was rumored to have done. Still others say it was the boy's destiny, and these are the people who have either passed down the legends of the great Hero of Hyrule from generation to generation or have themselves bore witness to his many great deeds. _

_Now, just five years after he defeated Ganondorf, Link, the Hero chosen by the goddesses, will have to rise again to face an even greater evil…_

"Hey! Link, are you alright?"

The goatherd blinked and looked down from the sky with a startled expression on his dirty face. Before him stood Fado, the 5'11'' tall rancher with a heart of gold and a simple mind. His childishly innocent face was pulled into a look of alarm, and he waved a large hand before Link's face. "Hmm? Fado, what's wrong?"

The larger man sighed and gave Link a friendly, lopsided smile. "Phew. I thought you'd caught heatstroke or somethin'. You really shouldn't stare at the sun like that, buddy. It ain't good for ya."

Link grinned and punched his friend lightly on the shoulder. "Alright, _mother_, I'll remember that next time."

Fado raised an eyebrow, and for a minute Link thought the rancher had taken him seriously. Then the larger man laughed outright and pushed Link back. "If I was your ma I wouldn't have raised ya to be such a slacker. You had enough energy to save all Hyrule, so how's about helping me move this hay?"

Alright, alright, I get it. I'll help." Together the two of them lifted the last few bales of hay onto their cart, and then they headed back to the village, Link leading his horse and trusted friend, Epona, a large brown and white Clydesdale mare.

After Hyrule was overtaken by the Twili five years prior, Princess Zelda, a monarch reborn, began to push her country to become the self-sufficient machine it was said to have been in the history books. Her father, who had died of the typhoid disease a few months before Zant invaded, had enjoyed a long, peaceful reign without war, and his rounded middle and laid-back attitude had shown it. That he had died and left his twenty-three year old daughter to deal with the first real crisis in centuries was at the least cruel, though unintentional. The Princess had had strong ideals for her country before the invasion but was given no time to implement them, and the weakness of Hyrule was shoved painfully in her face as a result. The soldiers were lazy and untrained in battle, and the Royal Council her father had appointed was a group of twelve fat, corrupt noblemen who were only concerned with lining their pockets with rupees. They had turned a blind eye to her when she'd brought up the state of Hyrule, so the first thing she'd done after the war was replace the entire council with people she trusted to make decisions for their country rather than for themselves.

After the princess changed the face of Hyrule's government and while she simultaneously funded the extensive repair of the castle, she was also making changes to the kingdom's sad economic state. Reaching out to the previously ignored Ordon, she had asked the villagers to begin growing more diverse crops in the hopes of providing more food for the citizens of Hyrule. She had the army clear out three large fields of trees around the village and, to get them started, had imported several new types of seeds from neighboring countries. She had also given Bo hiring and firing rights and had presented him with several young, eager-to-work soldiers to help tend to the farm.

With Hyrule's agricultural state on the rise, Zelda came up with a few other ingenious ideas that even surprised her new council. After purchasing several hundred pounds of bombs from Barnes (the amount of rupees had made the man's head swim) and striking a deal with the Goron elders, she had sent some of the stronger men in Hyrule to help the Gorons begin creating a quarry of sorts. As decreed by the treaty, the miners had access to the entirety of Death Mountain, with the exception of their homes and sacred temple at the top of the mountain, and began to mine for ore that would be sent to the metalworkers, who had migrated from Termina to Castle Town to help make weapons and armor for the knights, as well as things like jewelry, silverware and bed frames for the public. The wagons and carts needed to haul the ore came from the trees that had been cut down to make room for Ordon Farms, and the extra work animals—horses, oxen, etc.—were also imported. With all the spending the princess was doing, a large portion of the Royal funds were depleted, though Zelda was sure the improvements to her country were well worth the material cost.

And thus naturally came the question of Zelda's rule. Many of the citizens were calling for Zelda to choose a suitor. After all, in their eyes a kingdom wasn't a kingdom without a King; that was how it had always been. However, a portion of the population were suggesting that since Zelda had been their most capable ruler in years that she be allowed to rule alone if she chose to do so, as Queen. The appeal of this idea grew as the months progressed, and after the ore began to flow from the quarry the supporters were no longer in the minority. The Royal Council was in full agreement with the idea. So, three and a half years after the near death of her country, Princess Zelda Nohansen Hyrule became the first Queen to officially rule alone in her kingdom's history.

While the nation rejoiced, the Hero sank back into obscurity, feeling more than a little forgotten. Of course, he had his recognition; Zelda had told the entire kingdom what he'd done for them all more than once, and she had held a banquet in his honor every year since the Twili War ended. His face was instantly recognizable anywhere he went. He visited King Ralis at Zora's Domain every now and again, and he saw the citizens of Kakariko and the Gorons often because Beth had begun taking piano lessons from Renado, a skill he hadn't had the opportunity to share during the war, and Link had volunteered to take her back and forth to her lessons twice a month if for no other reason than to get away from the humdrum of everyday life in Ordon. Link had even seen the Yetis once or twice in the last six months, and while it was a difficult climb up and back down the mountain, getting to see his strange friends at Snowpeak was worth it. However, he hadn't seen Zelda since the annual banquet in his honor a few months back. Between these yearly meetings she'd send him a letter every three months inquiring about Ordon's progress, and he'd send a letter back saying everything was fine. They hadn't spoken privately in five years.

Link wasn't sure why her sudden coldness toward him bothered him so much. The first time they met he hadn't even been able to properly introduce himself, being a wolf and all. And their second meeting was much the same, except he had been half-crazy with worry for Midna, who had just been exposed to copious amounts of holy light, deadly to the Twili, and Zelda had sacrificed her body to heal Midna. After the princess disappeared his heart had been strangely heavy, but he hadn't had time to think about it; they'd been too preoccupied to think about anything other than finding a way to change him back to his original form, and after that with locating the shards of the Twilight Mirror. Technically, he hadn't had a day to really sit back and think about why he felt the way he did since the Bulbins had kidnapped Ilia, Colin and the others all those years ago.

"Link, you're doing it again…" The two of them had made it back to the corral, having come through the small dirt path in the back that led to the fields. Link had stopped walking and was staring up at the clouds again, and Epona had diligently stopped with him. Fado was giving Link a look of exasperation as the smaller man drifted off.

"Huh?"

"What are you two doing over there? Slacking off, I assume?"

"Ilia!" Link and Fado turned simultaneously to see Ilia ride by on her horse, a white stallion named Ivory. She'd received him last year as a gift from her father, and had since been helping Fado with the goats whenever she had a chance. She waved at the two of them, and then proceeded to round the last few straggling goats into the barn for the night. When she herded the last one into the barn she leapt off the horse and hurried in after them, making sure they all went into their stalls. Link wondered why she was putting the goats up so early before he realized it was nearly dark; the sun was low in the sky, painting the clear azul with a translucent orange tint. He hadn't really been paying much attention to his surroundings lately.

"Hey, Ilia!" Fado called, and hurried over to her as she closed the barn doors. The blonde girl turned to him just in time to be swept off her feet in an embrace. Link watched as Ilia's face lit up in surprise, then delight as she wrapped her arms around Fado's neck, her toes two feet from the grassy ground. Ilia and Fado had been seeing each other exclusively for a little over seven months. Link was genuinely happy for them; after all, it had been hell on both he and Ilia when he'd returned to Ordon. She had been expecting things to go back to normal, and he had known that his life would never really _be_ normal again, at least not for him. He wasn't the simple ranch hand he once was. He'd seen death and destruction. He'd dealt both many, many times.

Killing changes a man, and while he was truly very happy that Ilia had moved on, he oftentimes found himself wondering. What would have happened if Zant had never become power-hungry, if Ganondorf had been sealed away without being banished to the Twilight Realm, if he had simply delivered the gift to Zelda and returned home to Ordon…?

He shook away his thoughts as Fado and Ilia began toward him, hand in hand. These feelings had no bearing on here and now; what was done was done, and he would have to live with his choices, mistakes and failures included. He grinned and walked forward to meet them halfway, dimly aware that Epona had fallen into step behind him with the bales of hay. "Good afternoon, Ilia. How are you?"

"Fine," his childhood friend replied, nodding once and smiling warmly at him. Her deep emerald eyes held all the love in the world when she looked at Link, but he realized that tinge of pink her cheeks used to take on whenever she'd look at him wasn't there anymore. She tilted her head at Fado, who grinned sheepishly. "Fado tells me you've been off in your own world today, Link. Is something the matter?"

"No, nothing's wrong," said Link, who was vaguely troubled by the notion that he'd just told a lie. Nevertheless, he didn't let his discomfort show on his face. He rolled his shoulders and sighed. "Just had a long day in the field, that's all. We got all the hay today, and tomorrow we'll gather the rest of the crops that are ready. Rusl says the first winter snow isn't too far away now."

Ilia's eyes lit up at the name. "Oh, hey, I forgot! Uli told me to come find you. Colin wants to talk to you about something. She said he and Talo would be down by the river until sunset. You might still able to make it if you hurry, Link."

Link nodded and glanced at Epona. Before he could respond, Fado clapped him on the back. "Don't worry, Link. I'll get the hay off of the cart, and I'll take Epona back to your house for ya. You go on and see what Colin wants."

"Thanks, guys," Link said, sparing both Fado and Ilia one last glance before hurrying toward the gate that led to the village. The path was a little more worn than it had been when Link had been seventeen. Distantly he reminded himself that he and a few of the other ranch hands would have to go get some fresh dirt to fill in the depressions in the path before the first frost or else it would be hard to get back and forth between the village and the corral.

As he came into Ordon Village he slowed to a walk, looking around the place that had been his home for twenty-two years. It had expanded to fit in a few more houses, all built in the standard Ordon style, and the river had been slightly widened and deepened so that fish could be seen swimming all through it, but the changes pretty much ended there. Rusl and Uli's home had been expanded to fit the new addition to their family, a baby girl named Nessa. In the previously empty space across from the mayor's house a Town Hall had been constructed. It also served as a church on Sundays, and it was there that the now fifteen-year-old Beth would show off her keyboard skills on an old, but decent-sounding piano, to the delight of the other villagers. She was a very talented musician.

Shaking his head and still smiling, Link trotted toward the fishing dock behind Jaggle and Pergie's house. The dock that had been little more than a few boards tied together five years ago was now much sturdier and had been extended to the hollow area at the far end of the river. Though he couldn't see anything, splashing and yelling could be heard from around the bend, and Link knew Colin and Talo were still fishing. Or, judging by the noises they were making, _attempting_ to fish.

As he rounded the bend, Link instantly had to jump back to avoid being splashed. From what he could see, the boys had been roughhousing instead of fishing and had gone tumbling into the river, scaring away whatever chance they had of catching anything. Through the bubbles Link could barely see the boys break apart and surface a few feet away from each other, gasping and sputtering and insulting each other.

Link straightened his spine and, though he was struggling not to laugh, put on a stern face. "What in the world are you two doing?"

The boys stopped cursing immediately and glanced up at him with mirrored expressions of surprise, fear and guilt on their faces. Both of them had let their hair grow out too long, and were almost identical as they tried to push their bangs out of their eyes while staying afloat. Link couldn't help it; he burst out laughing at the sight of them. They looked like a pair of sheepdogs that got caught in the rain.

Talo was first to react, scrunching up his face. "What are you laughing at us for, Link? We weren't doing anything funny."

Link's deep laughter died away and he wiped at the tears in his eyes. "What _were_ you guys doing? Ilia said you were fishing, but _that_—" He laughed a little more, wincing as his sides began to hurt—"didn't look like fishing to me."

Colin, who had swam to the edge of the pool and was now sitting, drenched, on the ledge explained, "Talo got mad at me because I was 'hogging the pole'. He pushed me, I pushed back, and you know the rest." He shrugged casually as if it happened all the time, which it did. Colin had quickly come out of his shell after the events in Kakariko Village, and he and Talo had become fast friends.

The brunette boy, still in the water, huffed. "Make me sound like a little kid," he grumbled under his breath, though Link could easily detect a note of gratitude in his voice and in the way he looked up at the other boy from under his dripping bangs. Link's quick eyes caught the wink Colin gave to Talo, and he knew that something else had gone on between them. Nevertheless, it was something that they were content to keep between them, a secret among friends, and Link was okay with that. They were sixteen after all, and he was no longer one of them no matter how much he wanted to be. Twenty-two was far too old to be showing off your skills with a slingshot. Anyway, their interest had long moved away from the forgotten little toy Link still kept; both Talo and Colin were learning sword techniques from Rusl, who taught them as well as some of the more talented soldiers who had moved into town. Many of them weren't much older than the boys themselves. They were also teaching themselves to use bows the men had brought with them. Link had a feeling both boys would be joining the army soon. They would make fine additions to the Hyrule Guard.

Colin smiled and stood from the ledge, still dripping. "Hey, Link, since we're not making much headway here, do you think you could come with me for a minute? There's something I'd like to talk to you about." The blonde glanced at Talo who, still in the water, gave him a sharp look. Colin responded by winking again and waving at the other boy as he began to move along the long dock. "I'll catch you later, Talo. You'd better get out of there soon; it's gonna get cold tonight." With that, the young man gestured for Link to follow and walked back to the clearing behind Jaggle's house.

Link stepped up beside Colin, who tilted his head toward Link. "I'd like to talk to you privately. Could you meet me by the cucco house? I'd like to change clothes before it gets any colder out." To emphasize his point, he shivered slightly, folding his arms over his chest.

"Sure, Colin. I'll be waiting."

The younger boy smiled before running in the direction of his house. Link, figuring it'd take Colin a few minutes to change his clothes took his time getting to the cucco house, which was at the entrance to the village, just inside the gates. It had been a late addition through Zelda's generosity, and now along with the other crops they harvested Hanch and a few of the soldiers could take eggs and sell them at the Castle Town Market.

Zelda.

Why had she ignored him these past five years? The few first months after Midna shattered the Twilight Mirror had been exceedingly difficult for him, and since Zelda had needed him to explain the story of his adventure and rescue of Hyrule to her and the public he had stayed at the castle as an "esteemed friend" of the princess. During his stay at the castle they had developed a very easygoing rapport with each other, and at the end of those three months they had appeared very close. Rumors had already begun circulating about the relationship between him and Zelda. Of course, the rumors had not been what had formed the rift between them.

Had they?

Link sighed and ran a hand through his dirty hair. He was so confused, and he wasn't sure how to remedy the issue. During the Twili War his problems were limited to simple things, like if a monster was in the way, he would kill it, or if a puzzle seemed unsolvable he would leave, slay a few fiends and then return with a fresh mind. It was sort of difficult to not be able to just run out and destroy things whenever he wanted. He wasn't sure how he'd managed to stay sane before the Twili invaded.

Of course, he still owned the shard of dark magic Zant had implanted in his forehead five years ago. It had stayed at the bottom of the chest in his basement where he kept most of the items he'd found during his travels, and he hadn't thought about it in a long time. Suddenly the prospect of the primitive freedom of his wolf form energized him, put a bounce in his step that hadn't been there before. All thoughts of Zelda's cold shoulder were wiped from his mind as he walked to the cucco house, where Colin was already waiting, dressed in warm, dry clothing and a large brown cloak.

"Hey, where have you been?"

"Sorry, got a little sidetracked," Link replied, noting dimly that he'd been making a lot of excuses recently. He definitely needed to get out of Ordon for a while. Just one night of release would be wonderful.

Colin rolled his eyes and gestured toward the entrance to the village. "Whatever. C'mon, we need to talk, and I don't think we're safe here." There was a twinkle in the teen's eyes as he turned away, and Link raised an eyebrow but followed suit. Soon they had walked past Link's house, where Epona was safely munching on a large chunk of hay, and had arrived at the Ordon Spring. The luminescent water brightened the clearing almost to what appeared to be daylight, and Link's eyes took some adjusting as the two of them positioned themselves on the sandy ground.

For a few moments after they had settled Colin was silent. Link sat and waited, his mind drifting again, thinking back to the day Rusl had asked him to transport the sword and shield to the Royal family, a delivery that would never be made. _The mail guy would surely be horrified_, he thought with a grin. But what struck Link was the fact that five years ago he had sat at this very spot with Rusl, and was now doing the same with his teenage son, who had grown into a strong man in his own right. Link mused with some humor that he was the mentor in this picture, and smiled to himself. It was then that Colin began to speak.

"Link… I have something to ask you." Colin's voice was so soft at first, much like the timid child he once was. Then he turned to Link, and the defiance in his eyes reminded Link that the boy Colin had been was no more. "If you had to choose between something you loved and something you felt like you had to do, what would you choose?"

The question surprised him. He thought back to the beginning of his journey. Ilia had been his first crush, his first love, and she had been taken. So, naturally, he absolutely _had_ to go after the Bulbins and rescue her. That example wouldn't work. He thought about Midna, asking him on the hot, dry desert plain if he would help her take her kingdom back from Zant. He _had_ loved Midna in a way, but saving the two realms had also been his duty. He had felt bound to the fate of Hyrule, unable to stray from the path laid before him for too long. So that didn't work either.

Suddenly his head was filled with images, most of them blurry and rough, like the surfaces of old pictographs.

_"You're… Leaving Hyrule already?" A voice, oddly familiar, and a girl with wide blue eyes…_

_"Navi needs me…" This time he spoke. It was him, but at the same time it wasn't. His mind swam with the implications._

_"I'll never forget the days we spent together…"_

"When you're bound by duty, there never is a choice," Link whispered, his voice hoarse and distant. He blinked a few times, and when he realized the black and white images were fading he tried to call them back to no avail. He was sitting in the spring again, with no one but himself and Colin around. The blond teen was looking at him with questioning eyes, and Link realized he'd spoken out loud. "W-what I meant to say was, see…" Rattled by the visions, he was tongue-tied. The voice who had blurted the phrase didn't feel like his own. It was as if someone was trying to speak through him.

_Is that true?_ A voice in his head questioned. _If you're bound by duty, or by fate, is there really not a choice? In anything?_ Link thought back to his adventure, to the feeling he'd had in the Gerudo Desert. Had he been acting of his own accord then? Or was he really just following a pre-paved road?

"Link?"

Link closed his eyes, trying to clear his head, and then opened them. "What I meant to say was that you should choose whichever makes you happier, Colin. Duty, fate… It doesn't mean anything."

_Fool! What are you saying?_

"You should always do what you think is right, regardless of whatever expectations others have of you."

_No, no!_

"Every single living thing, man or beast, has a choice in the matter."

_Stop lying to the boy! There _is _no choice!_

Link stood abruptly, his hands clenched at his sides. A sudden rage boiled up through his gut into his chest, setting his heart on fire. His eyes darted around the clearing, desperately looking for an escape and finding none. "You have a choice, Colin!" He bellowed, hearing his own voice as if it were an echo, distorted and foreign. "Don't let destiny take you away from the things you love!"

When the voice inside his head didn't respond, Link was relieved. The anger inside him began to dissipate as quickly as it had come, and he glanced down at Colin. The defiant teenager who'd sat in the sand a minute before was once again reduced to the shivering, frightful child, though five years ago that fear was never directed toward _him_. Now, all Link could see in Colin's eyes was panic.

"Colin, I—" Link couldn't continue. His tongue was stuck to the roof of his mouth, and he knew without the explanation Colin was undoubtedly waiting for that look would still be painted all over his face. So Link did the only thing he could think of.

He turned tail and ran.

He was at his treehouse in a flash. Vaulted himself over the railing down to the basement. Landed on his feet. Went straight for the chest, threw everything else out until he found the gray string-tied pouch he'd stored the shard in. Climbed back up the ladder one-handed, cradling the pouch in the other, and left the house, leaving the door wide open. He couldn't help it. Untying the pouch, he drew the black and orange shard out by his index finger just the way Midna had taught him. Inhaling sharply, he plunged the cursed stone deep into his chest, loosing a scream that morphed into a howl as the quick transformation took him. All of his worries about Colin, Zelda, Ilia, the farm, his unsatisfactory, stationary life—it all faded away as primal instincts flooded his mind. Catching the scent of bokoblins about two miles north he leapt off the ledge and took off in that direction, frightening Epona. He didn't even notice because his senses were so overloaded, but he passed Colin as the boy was on his way back to the village. He was lost in the sweet pull of his muscles as he ran, the frigid air as it whipped through his fur, the soft grass-rough dirt-itchy sand on the pads of his paws.

And the bloodlust was unbearable. Had Coro been taking a midnight stroll he surely would've become a victim of the beast's sudden rage.

Mere minutes after Link had stormed out of the clearing Colin heard a scream, followed by a triumphant howl. Fear gripped at the teen's heart, as he was unarmed, but he swallowed his fright and hurried toward Link's house. Regardless of the odd things the older man might do, Link had always been his hero, and he knew if the time ever came he'd defend Link to the death.

As Colin rounded the corner, he simultaneously heard Epona whinny and saw a black creature flit through the trees toward him. At first he thought it was a poe—it moved so _fast_!—but as it passed by him he got a complete view of the creature. It was a wolf, and an oddly familiar looking one at that. Colin was sure he'd seen the large beast somewhere before. Then the creature was gone, disappearing into the night as if it had been just a shadow itself. Trembling with horror yet anxious for Link's safety, he continued around the bend to the clearing. Epona was rearing up on her back legs, her eyes wide and frightened. Colin went over to try to calm her down, but before he did he glanced up at the treehouse. The door was wide open, and the inside was dark.

Something terrible had happened to Link.

Queen Zelda sat up in her bed, smoky blue eyes wide. She hadn't been sleeping; she didn't do much of that nowadays, anyway. In spite the many accomplishments she had made with her country something was still wrong, and she had no idea what. It sickened her to think that she might still be the naïve girl that had taken the throne unwillingly five years ago. She couldn't believe that she was the bearer of the Triforce of Wisdom. How could someone who was supposed to be so wise be so damned _stupid_ about everything?

So she hadn't been sleeping when the soft glow of the Holy Power on her right hand flashed bright, bathing the bedroom in golden splendor. Zelda sat up and stared at the glow, feeling in her heart that something was going terribly wrong with the bearer of the Triforce of Courage.

With Link.

She immediately tried to reach him with her mind. When she found him he was out in Hyrule's southern field, and she worried even more. What was he doing wandering about at this time of night? She reached out to his mind and was almost thrown backward when he not only blocked her from his consciousness, but _repelled_ her from it. She gasped and held her glowing hand to her heart, sweat slicking her face and neck from the effort. She could sense the shadows watching her but paid them no heed as she continued to try to detect Link's source of agitation.

Gently, with great care, she stretched her consciousness toward his. This time she was met with not a harsh blow, but a solid wall of protection. She slowly slid her mind along the barrier, searching for any weak spots and finding none. It was incredible to her. He had done, presumably accidentally, what she and many other spellweavers had been training to do their entire lives, which was to build an impenetrable wall around their thoughts, feelings and memories, everything that a person holds most dear. She herself had yet to accomplish this feat, and her powers had rivaled the late Gerudo king's. Her consciousness receded back into her body, and she fell back onto her bed with a soft _whump_, exhausted.

"What was that all about?"

"Later," she whispered, feeling the burning sensation on her hand begin to fade. Realizing her eyelids were sliding shut of their own accord for the first time in many, many months, she slowed her beating heart and regulated her breathing. Instantly she was in the deepest sleep she'd ever been in, and she dreamt actively of previous lives and previous torments that she would have to live with forever.

Link roused himself slowly, letting himself sleep in for just a few more minutes. On the farm it was a rare day indeed when he wasn't required to get up before the sun to begin his chores. Very rare. It was odd that Fado or one of the other children hadn't yet been sent to wake him up. He could feel the sun on his face as he dozed, and the air had lost the frigidity it typically had in the morning. Actually, it felt to him like it was mid-morning, almost early afternoon.

Link felt around himself for the first time. Underneath his body was not the straw mattress he'd made himself. Underneath his inquisitive fingers, rocks dislodged from the earth and blades of grass swayed in their roots. He frowned. He'd slept outside? But why had he—

His eyes snapped open. Above him was a wide canopy of sky undisturbed by clouds or treetops, the sudden brightness of it all stabbing at his eyes. He winced and brought a hand up to his face, blinking stupidly when he realized he was wearing his battle gauntlets.

He sat up and looked down at himself. Surely enough the Ordonian clothing he'd been wearing yesterday was gone, replaced with the Hero's green tunic. His belt had even been cinched tightly around his waist, something that he did on his adventure to give himself an extra boost of confidence. Now however it plagued his mind with unease. Clothing didn't just fly on to people, especially when they were busy slaughtering a group of bokoblins. The last time the Hero's Clothing had magically appeared on him had been five years ago. Their emergence from his chest of drawers held an omen that Link had been sensing for the last few months.

Something was wrong with Hyrule.

Sighing, the hero stood and dusted himself off, glancing around at his surroundings. He was shocked to realize he had wandered out into the very center of Hyrule's southern field, almost two more miles than he had planned on going last night. It would take him at least an hour to get back to Ordon! Feeling around in his pockets he noted with disappointment that his horse call charm had not been one of the items whisked to him this morning. Only his bow and quiver were on his person, and the rest of the pockets lining his belt remained empty. He was just thankful he'd been granted some sort of weaponry for the trip back home. Running his fingers through his hair and realizing that his familiar green cap was back in place, he glanced down at the ground. There, tied neatly back inside its cloth satchel, the physical manifestation of Zant's dark magic waited. He bent and retrieved it, tying the strings to a loop in his belt before beginning the trek to Ordon. A few times he'd had to stop and shoot a few kargaroc out of the sky because they were circling around his head. Other than that, the walk home was relatively boring until he reached the bridge.

There he was met with a sudden feminine cry, and Ilia, looking slightly haggard, had tackled him, grabbing him tightly around the waist. Startled, he could say nothing until he realized Ilia was holding back tears.

"We-we'd thought… Something happened to you, Link! I was s-so scared…"

Link hugged the girl back, still confused. "What? Who told you something happened to me? I'm fine, Ilia, calm down…"

The blonde released him as quickly as she had latched onto him, and for a second Link thought she was composed. Then he saw the anger flash behind her emerald eyes, and he knew he was going to get it.

"Fine? Colin said you disappeared last night. He said you were gone, left your door open to the world, and saw a wolf running away from your house. We thought you'd been _attacked_, Link! We sent out search parties! Are you telling me that you just went for a stroll?" All through her rant she'd gestured wildly around herself in a way that was very Ilia, and his heart was touched at the concern raging through her voice. He reached out toward her, and then rethought the move when she turned to face him, her emotions creating a particularly obvious firestorm around her.

"So? Where did you go last night if you didn't get eaten, hmm?"

The tone in Ilia's voice made it very clear that he had one chance to get the right answer. He swallowed, mouth a little dry, and chose his words carefully. "Last night I kind of had a breakdown," he murmured, staring at the ground. "I went into the forest to cool down and ended up going to sleep out there. I didn't see the wolf, because I didn't go back to my house." He sighed, his heart heavy with the half lie he'd told. Five years ago he had been forbidden by Zelda to mention anything about the Twili people to anyone; everything else about his adventure had been fair game. So though his friends in Ordon knew about his daring deeds for the land of Hyrule, they would never know about the Twili and their princess, who had become one of his very closest friends. And they would definitely never know about his ability to turn into a huge black wolf. No, some things were better kept hidden.

Throughout his explanation Ilia's angry expression had softened slightly, and she now looked at him with a mixture of annoyance and pity. Finally, she sighed deeply and hugged him again, a much gentler embrace than her first one. "I'm just glad you're okay. Colin came through the village yelling at the top of his lungs… It scared us all."

Feeling guilty for his selfish bout of insanity the night before, Link sighed and hugged Ilia back before releasing her and walking back toward the village, she in tow. "C'mon, let's go explain to everyone what happened."

They headed back, walking in silence for most of the way. It was a comfortable silence, something that only good friends could share. Link caught his mind wandering toward the what-ifs again and he stopped the thought with a curt shake of his head. Ilia caught the slight movement but remained quiet, and this is how they were when they walked into the clearing in front of Link's treehouse. Rusl and three of the soldiers that had just recently arrived in Ordon looked as though they were gearing up to go on another search, and Link felt a new pang of guilt, reminding himself next time he needed to pick a better way to get some private time.

When Rusl caught sight of him his brown eyes opened wide, his face an open look of surprise. Then he broke out in a wide grin, the corners of his eyes wrinkling up, and he walked toward them. "Link, my boy, you're safe!" The older man clapped him on the shoulder, and motioned for the soldiers to come over. "Garren, Percy, Selene and I were just about to come looking for you." The soldiers in question nodded or waved as their names were recited. Garren was a short male soldier with cropped brown hair and a kind, slightly pudgy face. He looked very young, possibly just eighteen. Percy was taller and older and wore his long golden hair in a low ponytail. He looked at Link like the goatherd was a chunk of something nasty stuck to his boot. Selene had brown hair as well, and it was pulled back into two short pigtails on either side of her head. Despite her cute girly hairstyle her face was set in a hard stare as she observed Link, and he guessed that her face was used to being in that expression.

"Yeah, Rusl, I'm fit as a fiddle," Link said, offering a weak smile to his adoptive father and the soldiers. Percy huffed and Selene turned her eyes away from Link, but Garren stepped closer to the two of them, holding a hand out. He really _was_ small, Link mused as he looked down at the soldier, who was about a head shorter than Link himself.

"It's an honor to meet you, Sir Link," Garren said, vigorously shaking Link's right hand. Then he abruptly let go of Link's hand and dropped onto one knee, bowing his head respectfully. "I apologize for being so forward, Sir. It's just… I didn't think I would meet the Hero of Hyrule so soon! It really is a blessing from the Goddesses!"

Slightly uncomfortable, Link turned to Rusl, who shrugged and smiled as if to say _just go with it_. Clearing his throat, he turned back to the young soldier. "Uh, thank you, soldier. But you're mistaken; I was not knighted."

Still on one knee, the young man looked up to link with bright hazel eyes. "You were not knighted? But surely you have deemed yourself worthy!"

"He wouldn't let the Queen Knight him," Rusl interjected, giving Link a serious look. "He told her that he didn't deserve the honor, and that he just wanted to come home."

Link bit the inside of his cheek. This was a subject he hadn't wanted to breach; it was one of the reasons he had tried to avoid the soldiers coming through Ordon the past couple of years. A few days before he'd left the castle five years ago, Zelda had offered to make him a knight of her guard. The suggestion had come out of the blue, and it had stunned Link speechless. She had explained it all very thoroughly and convincingly, and it had been a deal no other man could have refused.

Link had.

The argument afterward was one that he had been trying to forget for the past five years.

Sensing that they were treading in dangerous waters, Rusl tapped Garren on the shoulder, who had been staring at Link dumbly. "Hey, since we don't have to go on a search party, would you all like to help Fado collect firewood today? It's going to snow soon; I can feel it." Rusl tapped his left knee, which had been broken two years ago. He'd been trying to fix a leak in his roof, and instead of enlisting the help of any of the much younger soldiers he'd tried to do it himself and ended up falling off. His knee had healed, but now he walked with the stiff-legged gait of an elder man. Link had finished fixing the roof for him.

Garren scrambled up, looking embarrassedly around himself, and the four of them walked back into town together, leaving Link and Ilia alone. The goatherd sighed when the group was out of earshot, slipping his hat off of his head and running a hand through his hair.

Ilia turned to him, her expression unreadable. "Why did you do it?"

He glanced at her, wringing his hat in his hands. "Do what?"

She hesitated momentarily, noting warily the dark look in his eyes, and then pressed on. "Why did you refuse when Zelda tried to give you knighthood?" She paused, then added, "Was it because of Midna?"

When he had told the Ordonians about his adventure, he had been forbidden to tell them anything about the Twili. However, Midna had been such a huge part of the story that he was unable to leave her out, so he described her as a woman he'd met when he was ambushed by some nasty monsters out in Hyrule Field. He'd told the villagers that she'd saved his life, and had continued to travel with him until the end of his journey. He was never able to make himself create a reason why Midna had disappeared, but the villagers had just assumed that she had died sometime close to the end of his journey. He wanted so badly to correct them, but he had been sworn to secrecy.

Link stared at her, debating what he should tell her. He sighed and looked away. "I don't know what to tell you. Not really." He moved away from her and dropped to the ground beside Epona, leaning back against the trunk of a tree. She followed him and sat beside him, folding her legs neatly below her body. He buried his face in his hands, wishing his life was a little less complicated.

"Just start at the beginning," Ilia said helpfully, placing a soft hand on his arm. The gesture touched him, confused him, electrified him all at the same time, and he scrunched his eyes together in denial of this fact. He didn't want to dredge up these feelings but they were welling up in his chest, and he was quickly losing control of them. The only way he was going to be able to calm himself down was to talk about it for the first time in five years.

Of course, he didn't have a choice.

Sighing once more, Link began to speak.


End file.
